'This isn't Churchill we're dealing with!' Donald Trump lashes out at Keir Starmer over Iran war as he cuts trade with Spain

Donald Trump has lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer over the Prime Minister's response after the US launched strikes on Iran over the weekend.

During a press conference at the White House this afternoon, the US President singled out responses from Britain - as well as Spain - and expressed his dissatisfaction with the way they reacted to American's missile blitz on Tehran.

The US President said Sir Keir "was no Winston Churchill" in a scathing assessment of the world leader - after the PM intially refused to allow American bombers to use UK bases, including Diego Garcia, to launch the strikes on Iran.

Speaking about Labour's Chagos "surrender" deal, Mr Trump said: "The island that island that you read about, the lease, for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island, somebody came and took it away from him.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

"And it's taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land, it would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours.

"So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with..."

For years, Mr Trump has made no secret of his admiration for the war hero - with the President decorating the Oval Office with a bust of Sir Winston, just as he did during his first presidency.

In response to the dig, Labour MP Toby Perkins hit back, telling GB News: "Well, it's not Franklin Roosevelt that we're dealing with either.

"I think the reality is that at least I made clear - he wasn't convinced about the legality of the original offensive action. And for that reason, Britain wasn't going to be getting involved and Britain wasn't going to be allowing our bases to be used."

Now, since the PM refused to give his blessing to the US action, the President has ramped up his spat with Sir Keir over support from Britain, preivously calling the PM of being "unhelpful".

Yesterday, he went on to express his "deep disappointment" with Sir Keir after the Prime Minister initially blocked American forces from launching strikes against Iran from the Diego Garcia military base.

The Republican leader suggested Sir Keir should have taken a stronger stance on British control of the territory - rather than surrendering the land to Mauritian sovereignty.

LATEST FROM DONALD TRUMP:

• Republican assures UK-US relationship 'will remain' despite Keir Starmer's stance on Iran
• PM's stance on Iran has left UK-US relationship 'damaged', ex-White House official tells GB News
• Donald Trump 'very disappointed' in Keir Starmer for blocking US from using Chagos to strike Iran

"He should have fought it out and owned it or make him take it, if you want to know the truth," Mr Trump told The Telegraph. "But no, we were very disappointed in Keir."

But Britain is not the only European country subjected to Mr Trump's ire, with the President vowing to cut off all trade with Spain after its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused to allow the US use its army bases for the same reason.

"Spain has been terrible," the President said, explaining he had instructed his Treasury Secretary to "cut off all dealings" with the country.

"We don't want anything to do with Spain," he added.

On Monday, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told media: "Based on all the information I have, the bases are not being used for this military operation,."

Meanwhile, Mr Sanchez, on Saturday, condemned the US-Israeli strikes which spurred on retaliatory rockets from the Islamic Republic.

He declared the move to be "unjustified" and "dangerous military intervention", expressing concern that the action breached international law.

Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter